🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia have begun in the United Arab Emirates. The talks will discuss a possible energy ceasefire and address the territorial point. Unconfirmed reports that the US has proposed an $800 billion reconstruction fund for Ukraine in return for the full withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk region.

🇸🇩🇦🇪🇮🇱⚡- There has been a surge of military aircraft connecting the UAE and Israel, indicating Tel Aviv has begun playing an active role in arming the Rapid Support Forces of Sudan.

Flights from the UAE have landed in Israel, then taken off towards Chad or more commonly Ethiopia. Aircraft have also departed from Israel towards Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan, such as Reg: 7Q-ASU, then to the UAE. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have long been used by the Emirati state as a logistical base, but more importantly a hub for mercenaries.

🇺🇸⚡️- Elon Musk is returning to politics for the 2026 elections. He has considered using America PAC, which funded and supported the GOP and Trump in 2024. The Wall Street Journal claims,

“For 2026, Musk is focused on converting Trump voters, some of whom have only shown up to vote for Trump in the presidential election, into midterm and down-ballot voters, according to some of the people.”

🇫🇷🇷🇺🇩🇿⚡- Sanctioned Russian shadow vessel, PROGRESS, appears in distress off the coast of Algeria, Western Mediterranean.

The tanker is loaded with 730,000 barrels of Russian Ural grade oil, and was bound for the Suez. The tanker began drifting off its shipping lane, and slowing down to speeds of 1 knot.

Just 24 hours ago, France seized another Russian tanker, GRINCH, in the same waters.

🇮🇷⚡- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

"Mayhem of the recent terrorist operation [protests] in Iran:

● 305 ambulances and buses,
● 24 gas stations,
● 700 convenience stores,
● 300 private homes,
● 750 banks,
● 414 government buildings,
● 749 police stations,
● 120 Basij centers,
● 200 schools,
● 350 mosques,
● 15 libraries,
● 2 Armenian churches,
● 253 bus stations,
● 600 ATMs,
● 800 private cars.

● Total death toll: 3,117,
● Civilians and security forces: 2,427,
● Terrorists: 690."

🇸🇩🇹🇷🇪🇬⚡- For the second consecutive day, Turkish military cargo planes have arrived at Sharq El Owainat Airport, southern Egypt, on the border of Sudan. The repeated use indicates a likely deal between Egypt and Turkey, where Cairo has granted the latter the rights to use its facilities in the south to arm the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces, RSF. The use of southern Egypt will save Ankara from its current route of transporting all the way to Port Sudan, and also the equipment can arrive at the Darfur front much faster.

Sharq El Owainat Airport is indented to serve as a domestic-only airport for the land reclamation project at Sharq El Owainat.

Despite Egypt's pressure on eastern Libya's Haftar-led Libyan National Army, the southeast of Libya continues to be used as a staging ground for the RSF. In fact, recent satellite imagery shows an increase in activity in RSF camps in the area.

🇮🇷 - Disturbing footage from the recent Iranian protests show Basij security, armed with knives and batons, attack an unarmed woman.

The footage is time-stamped to the 8th of Jan.

🇫🇷🇷🇺 - The French Navy releases footage of its operation to seize the sanctioned Russian tanker GRINCH.

🇷🇺🇮🇷⚡- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has advised Russian citizens against travelling to Iran "until the security situation has fully normalised." She also urges Russians in Iran to "follow safety precautions, avoid taking photos and videos, and comply with local law enforcement requests."

🇺🇸🇮🇶⚡- CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper met with Iraq's Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad.

🇫🇷⚡️- The Urssaf, France's social tax collecting organism, has been hacked earlier this week. At least 12 million employees' data has been partially extracted from their databanks. The Urssaf has warned French citizens of a potentially increased amount of phishing emails in the coming weeks. No culprit has been found yet.

This is the third massive hack of a French public institution or ministry in under two months.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- "Today, amidst the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors and its complete shutdown of internet access to conceal its abuses against the Iranian people, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is increasing pressure on the regime’s shadow fleet.

OFAC is targeting nine shadow fleet vessels and their respective owners or management firms that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets," - US Department of Treasury.

🇫🇷⚡️ – As local elections are set to take place in March in France, French far-left LFI party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said "LFI must represent the new France, the France of the Great Replacement".

🇺🇸🇵🇸🇮🇱⚡- Special Envoy Witkoff and Kushner will meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem tomorrow evening, Israeli Channel 12 reports.

The three will likely discuss moving onto Phase Two of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal.

🇵🇰⚡- A major suicide attack at a wedding in the Dera Ismail Khan district of western Pakistan. The wedding was reportedly related to a senior military official of the peace committee.

5 dead so far, the death toll is expected to climb very high.

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- British Airways, KLM and Air France have cancelled flights to certain destinations in the Middle East tonight.

🇹🇷🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- "We have seen indications that Israel is preparing to attack Iran," - Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

🇺🇸🇨🇺⚡- "The Trump administration is weighing new tactics to drive regime change in Cuba, including imposing a total blockade on oil imports to the Caribbean country.

Preventing shipments of crude oil to the island would be a step-up from Trump’s statement last week that the U.S. would halt Cuba’s imports of oil from Venezuela, which had been its main crude supplier," - Politico.

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡- CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper to arrive in Tel Aviv tomorrow to meet Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

🇵🇸🇮🇱⚡- "The Israeli security system estimates that Hamas will not agree to disarm, and the Southern Command has prepared extensive military plans in case of the renewal of fighting," - Israeli Channel 12.

🇩🇪🇸🇦🇮🇱⚡- Germany's Lufthansa has now also cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Riyadh tonight.